Wildflower- Reader x Engineer
by Kuzuro
Summary: Ongoing- Fluff- rated T for language- your POV You end up having to work at Red base and start to develop feelings for the Engineer.
1. The Kitchen Mishap

He was a simple man, dragged into this mercenary business all because of his grandfather. It was a difficult business like any other one involving machinery but this job was different... he had to kill people. He never would have thought his life would have come to this or that, and he would have not much of a choice, but for what it's worth be believed that is was all worth it, protecting his family. Or at least that's what he told me. He had eleven science PhD's and nothing to show for it besides his dirty overalls and his missing hand. "_For Science"_ or at least that_'s_ what he said the purpose of ditching it was. _Science_. It was always about science with him. Always carefully calculating. Tinkering madly with his gadgets. But that's what was so attractive about him. His drive, his passion. Behind those dingy goggles was a spark in his eye like no other.

Me? well.. I wasn't much of a mercenary. I was forced here because I had debt to pay and needed to work and this was the only thing I could get. Sure I could fight, but that's not what I was hired to do. I was just an errand runner, just a simple messenger who went into town to grab supplies and other things for the mercenaries on the team I lived with. The base was _disgusting _when I arrived. There were Sniper's urine.. jars.. on the counter top in the kitchen and grease and oil all over the kitchen table from Engineer bringing his work with him when he ate. Everyone else mostly stayed in their rooms on downtime except for Sniper who was never in the base but out in his van. From time to time he would come back inside to fill his thermos with hot coffee and clean his "#1 Sniper" mug.

Speaking of which, he had just come inside, I could see the cold on his breath as he walked in, his hands looked cold as ice. I looked up at him and down to his mug as I watched him pour himself a cup of the scalding black coffee.

"So if you're #1 Sniper, who's #2?" I asked, just joking with him.

"That bloke at the enemy base." he snickered, gesturing at the door towards their base.

I giggled at the thought of Blue Sniper drinking out of a "#2 Sniper" mug. My giggles must have traveled into the dining room cause soon after I noticed the Engineer get up and walk over to us.

"Soun's like someone's havin' quite a bit of a party on over here." He reached over me to the cupboard above to grab a mug for some coffee. "care eff'n i join yall?"

I smiled at him warmly and reached out my hand for his mug, offering to pour him some coffee. He surrendered the cup and I turned around to pour him some from the fresh pot I had made. Sniper turned and placed his coffee down after a quick sip.

"Goin back to the van" He snickered, "but i'm sure this Shelia would keep ya' comp'ny." He quickly took his cold hands and slid them down the collar of my shirt, wrapping them around my shoulders. I jumped out of my skin from the cold. I swatted him away angerly. He grabbed his thermous and mad a mad dash for the door as I threw a dishrag at him.

"And don't cha' come back tonight! I'm NOT makin' you any more coffee you dirty old man!" I yelled at him, my face red as the hot sun. He loved teasing me since he was the only one to have caught on to my crush on the Engineer and damn did he exploit it at every turn.

Engineer was laughing so hard he couldn't contain it anymore. The look on my face as I looked into the reflection of the toaster was disheveled. I tried to regain my composure but Engineer's laughter was just contagious. As I looked at myself in the toaster I started to laugh. Suddenly I could feel tears running down my cheeks as if I hadn't realized I had spilled the hot coffee I was pouring for Engineer all over one of my hands.

"Oh shoot!" I exclaimed, half laughing at myself and trying to hide the pain and hurt from him. If I let him worry he'll go soft on me.

I rinsed my hands under cold water and cleaned up the counter quickly, but Engineer looked extremely concerned. He had taken off his goggles to reveal his beautiful eyes as blue as the day filled with worry.

"Yer hands-" he started, but I interrupted him quickly so he couldn't question my behavior.

"-Are fine." I lied, the burning and stinging pain drowning out all my thoughts, "I've had worse, but i'll go downstairs and see Medic just in case."

I hustled out of the room, my back to hirted flowing for real now, and I knew he was still staring at me as I left, his gaze pulling at my heart.


	2. The infirmary

I ran up to my room since I didn't want any of the guys to see my hands or the tears running down my face. I turned the corner a bit too fast and ran into Pyro. He waved his hands in apology as he looked down at me, seeing me with tears stuck to my cheeks and a stupid smile on my face trying to hide my pain from him.

"Murrrr! Murr!?" He exclaimed, his muffled voice hindered by his mask. He points towards my face and then to my hands.

"Uh.. Yeah I kinda burned myself on some coffee... "I said, wiping my eyes dry, "please don't tell anyone I was crying. I don't want anyone to know about it-" He nodded at me and motioned for me to follow him so I did, hiding my hands in my sweatshirt pockets. We walked to the infirmary , Pyro walking right it without even a knock.

"Vat is it Pyro?" I heard from inside. Medic kinda creeped me out so I avoided talking to him as much as I could. I peered around the corner.

"Ah it is the child. Did you get hurt?" He looked at me, scowling.

"I burnt my hand on some coffee. I just need to-" I started.

"Come here child and let me vandage that up for you."

I let him put some cream on my hands and bandage them up. He smiled at me and whispered to me as he worked

"Pyro must have brought you here so he could get a lollipop." I looked up towards Pyro who was sitting patiently in the chair nearby and staring in the direction of the lollipops. I tried to stifle a laugh but ended up snickering.

"Oh so you do have a voice" he grinned, "I know I must come ov as mean but don't be scared, Fräulein." I blushed at his kind words. "All done." He helped me back up to my feet and gave me a cup of water and some painkillers.

"Take these, iv it does not take the pain away let me know"

Pyro was now standing with the lollipop jar in his hands, holding it up to me offering me one. I grabbed a _ one and quickly unwrapped it and shoved it in my mouth. The mix of sugar and the distraction of how silly Pyro was kinda took the pain of my hands away.

"Thanks Medic" I said, trying to pull Pyro away from the candy jar.

We left the infirmary and Pyro waved goodbye, his arms full of lollipops and "stolen" candy. I made my way back to the kitchen since I felt bad since I left Engineer there by himself. The kitchen was mostly empty, it was past 9pm now so most everyone was back in their rooms. Engineer was still sitting at the table, reading a blueprint and eating some toast.

"Hey there." I said as I walked by him on the way to the kitchen. "Went to go see Medic. He said I'll be fine. No big deal."

"If it wasn't a big deal than why were ya crying those tears darlin'?" He got up from his chair and blocked my way to the kitchen.

"A-ah- you saw that huh...?" I looked down at my hands, ashamed of myself. I felt the warmth of his big hand, the real one, on my head, rustling my hair.

"You had me worried, missy. If it really hurt that bad I'd taken you to Medic right away but you ran off faster than a bull at a rodeo!"

He looked at me and took off his goggles. As once as we made eye contact I could feel my face turning red.

"W-would you like to go on a walk?" I stuttered, "with me..I mean"

He chuckled. "Sure but you better wear a jacket or somet'n. It's mighty cold out there."

I went to the other room to grab my coat and his. I ran back to the kitchen and gave him the coats asking him to hold them for a moment. I ran to the counter and grabbed a thermos. I filled it with the last of the coffee, and turned off the burner.

"Ready!"

He chuckled as he put on his coat. "Then let's get goin"


	3. The Walk Under the Stars

**Wow I'm really cranking out the chapters cause I'm supposed to be cleaning the house today but I was using this fic to procrastinate lol enjoy!**

We walked along the path behind the base for a bit in silence, the cold wind nipped at my face making it redder. I looked up at the sky at the stars, becoming immersed in them.

"Space is so amazing" I gasped stopping in my tracks still gazing at the sky.

Engineer had walked further than me, so he turned around to look back at me. He just stared at me for a few seconds and then looked up too. He mumbled something, the wind drowning out his voice.

"What was that?" I asked walking right up to him and looking up at him in the eyes.

"I said.. They're nothin' compared ta you" he scratched his head nervously with a big smile.

"E-Engineer.." I blushed and looked at my feet. My face was hotter than the sun right now. I couldn't believe it.

"I mean- you're really strong and nice and I think that's 'mazing." He looked down at me again,"Compared to a burning ball of fire and gasses 'n space, that's much more 'mazing.."

"Y-you think so?"

"Couldn't be more sure darlin'."

I looked up in his eyes I could see his face was as red as mine.

"Engineer I just wanted to-"

"Dell."

"Huh?"

"Call me Dell. That's my real name darlin'. It's not fair I get to call you by your real name miss _." He fussed with the zipper on my jacket, properly zipping it up. I could feel his warm breath on my face. "Yer gonna get sick if you don't wear your jacket proper"

"Thanks Dell" I grabbed the sleeve of his jacket, "let's look at the stars together"

He grabbed my hand and held it tightly looking down at me "sure thing"

We walked for a while not straying too far from the base. We shared stories of before we came to red base, he told me more personal stories about himself and his family's business in Texas. How he wished after all this mercenary business that he could live a normal life again.

I shared my story about how I ended up in debt, was hired to be an "assistant" but ended up with this dead end errand running job.

"What did ya want to do after school?" He asked me, curious.

"Astronomy." I looked up at the sky, the stars reflected in my eyes, "I always was amazed by space." I looked back at him "but I was never good at math or science so I was discouraged in high school."

I let go of his hand and ran ahead of him a little ways. I jumped up on top of a big rock nearby.

"I found our stargazing spot!"

He stared at me for a while again, a smile covered his face from ear to ear. I looked up and gasped.

"A shooting star!" I called out pointing into the distance. He spun around quickly just fast enough to catch a glimpse.

I ran back to him and grabbed him by the hand, pulling him over to our spot. I sat down and he soon followed. I pulled out my thermos and poured some coffee into the cup of the lid. I sipped it slowly taking in the heavy coffee aroma.

"Would you like some?" I handed him my cup, offering him a sip since I only had the lid to sip out of. He took the lid in his hands and took a small gulp. He sat there gazing at me, analyzing.

I blushed at the thought of him watching me as I looked at the sky.

Everything felt perfect.


	4. The Cold Night

**Sorry for the delay in updates! I've been really busy with work and stuff plus my computer broke so I haven't had much time to write again. I'm about to leave on a 3 hour drive to Pennsylvania right now so I can finish a few more chapters! **

**Without further adeu, chapter 4 of Wildflower. **

We sat on the rock under the stars, the cold wind nipping at our red faces as we shared the warm coffee from my thermos. Dell was staring at me intently as I took another sip. I looked up at him and offered him a sip. He nodded and I went to hand him the cup but he leaned over for a sip instead. I tilted the cup slightly as his lips touched the rim. He sipped softly bringing his own hand up in contact with my own, guiding the cup back to a level position.

"No wonder Sniper asks you t'make his coffee this stuff's pretty good." He said to me, "I'm kinda jealous."

"I could bring you coffee too." I refilled the cup, "I know you are up late at night working. So.. Y'know.. I could bring you some and maybe keep you company sometimes?"

He nodded and hummed softly, "I'd like that much, darlin'."

The wind suddenly picked up and the gust nearly knocked me back off the rock. I dropped the lid with the coffee in it on the ground in surprise as Dell grabbed me before I could fall back.

"Ah!" I gasped as his arms wrapped around me and he held me close. His warm embrace heating my body to the very core, even through my light jacket. I could feel the scruff of his cheek on my face and his warm breath on my face.

"Ah-You okay?" He asked, his voice shaking a bit, his grip on me lessening. I could feel his heartbeat quicken as his gaze avoided my eyes. He smelled of machine oil and of the strong coffee we had just shared.

"Dell.." I turned my body a bit to face him as I leaned into his embrace, "I'm okay." His smell and warmth were almost intoxicating. I could feel him shake nervously in response to my affection. I could tell that he was hesitant as to what to do or even say. We sat there in silence for a minute.

"Are you cold?" He finally spoke up.

"Just a little.. But it's warm here in your arms.." I looked down at my hands shyly, fussing with my bandages.

"Well if that's the case then-" he lifted me into his lap, and held me tight. My eyes widened with surprise as he placed his forehead onto mine. Our hearts racing wildly as we made eye contact. I felt like my face was on fire. I tried to avoid his gaze but he lifted his hand to my face, stroking my cheek with his thumb, "...miss (y/n)... I ..." He paused momentarily trying to muster as much courage as he could," I...reckon I've fallen in love with you..."


	5. The Mistake

Sorry for the long absence. I will be still uploading chapters but it will be not as frequent as before. I still love this story and I have a lot planned for it. Thank you for your patience.

I walked through the dark base. It was 5am now and I make my way to the workshop. It's quiet and I see a light under his door at the end of the hall. When I got to the door, I knocked lightly, my hand still sore from the coffee burns from earlier. I waited a couple minutes my heartbeat loud and my palms sweaty. What was I going to say to him? I looked nervously at my feet. I knocked once more but got no reply.

"Engineer?" I quietly called for him but with no reply. He might have fallen asleep at his workbench. I clenched the doorknob to let myself in, but it was locked. I slumped against the door in defeat. I felt exhausted. My eyelids felt so heavy. I sat on the floor leaning against the door. A nap couldn't hurt, right? In a few hours I would have to run out to get the new Intel documents with Sniper so I figured that a short nap would be ok. He would look for me if I was late. I let sleep overtake me.

I feel groggy. My head feels like it weighs a ton. My eyes burn as I open them and the light makes my head throb. I'm an unfamiliar room. The sun is high above the base so it must be around noon. Startled, I sit up quickly only to feel dizziness overcome me. I am cold. I shiver even though I have 4 heavy blankets wrapped around me. I must have gotten sick from sleeping in the hallway.

"It's about time you woke up"

His voice was cold and make me wince.

"Eng-" I started, but he didn't let me finish.

"What do you think you were doing sleeping out in the hallway? Now you're sick and Medic doesn't have the medicine appropriate for normal people and-"

"I'm sorry" I said quietly as I start to get out of bed, "I'll go into town to the pharmacy and get some normal medicine"

He grabs my arm as I head towards the door, "You can't just walk around sick like that" his tone condescending.

I pull away. "I'll be fine. Besides.. I didn't do my job today and sickness is no excuse."

As I leave I turn to him, I force a smile but it's a bit contorted as the tears start to overcome me. "I'm sorry about last night.." I run out the door and dash to my room, locking my door behind me as I slip inside.

The tears flow and I'm back at square one.

"What have I done...?" I say quietly to myself.


End file.
